This is a collection of twelve comedy skits—all featuring favorite fairy tale characters and all truly hilarious. For teachers, as the end of the year approaches, this collection will be a terrific resource to have in your back pocket for that rainy/snowy/perfectly sunny day you need a little comedy relief!

I’ve been known to get a little crazy, and this month will be no exception. The proof is this: I’m sharing my recipe for “Death by Tiramisu” with anyone who purchases a playscript in March…for free! Serve up some tiramisu after a Fun Middle School Play, and don’t be surprised if members of your audience actually swoon. It’s a dessert to die for!

Tiramisu sound too fancy? Think again. The name simply means “little pick-me-up” in Italian, and the traditional version is made with layers of coffee-dipped cookies, rich cream, and shaved chocolate. Easy. Gorgeous. Deadly good.

It’s going to be a delicious dessert following any play performance, but it’s a match made in heaven with my mystery dinner show, The Secret of the Spoon. Tiramisu has a starring role in this particular script! The play tells the story of the Pastalucci Family who run an Italian restaurant and are mourning the loss of their beloved Nonni…not to mention the special spoon she used to make her famous tiramisu. It’s a comedy, it’s a mystery, and it’s a dinner show all layered into one play. And like tiramisu, it’s a crowd pleaser!

A Mystery Dinner Show with a Dessert to Die For! It’s madness, I tell you!

And have I mentioned how dead easy tiramisu is to make? Four layers and you’re done! Don’t anticipate having to make it the day of the show, either. Tiramisu gets better when its had a chance to sit and put its feet up. Prepare it the day before your show, go about your business, and it will be ready and waiting for its entrance the following evening.

In my recipe for “Death by Tiramisu,” I not only give you the instructions on how to prepare the original version but also advice on easy substitutions, possible variations, and some tips on making it for a large group.

So purchase a script from Fun Middle School Plays in the month of March, and enjoy my recipe for “Death by Tiramisu.” It would be madness not to!

I have a sweet surprise for you. Better than candy hearts. Lovelier than a bouquet of roses. More delicious than a box of chocolate-covered cherries. And I’m offering it free with any purchase of a playscript from Fun Middle School Playsduring the month of February. It’s the recipe for my scrumptious, one-of-a-kind, grand champion Perfect Pear Pie!

A PLAYSCRIPT paired with a PIE RECIPE…what could be better for Valentine’s Day?

So what is this “Perfect Pear Pie”? Oh my. Well, it’s not a fruit pie with chunks of pear, as you might imagine. It is instead a rich, caramel-flavored cream pie with a crust of coconut crumble, topped with whipped cream and cinnamon-sugared pear slices. It’s as if pear and caramel and coconut threw a raucous party, and you were invited! It’s won the hearts of family, friends, strangers, and pie judges alike. And when I call this pie a grand champion…I’m not being dramatic. I’ve got the blue ribbon to prove it.

All three of these playscripts are incredibly fun, side-stitchingly funny, and really simple to stage and costume. Let’s call them the ultimate cure to cabin fever.

These Pie Palooza plays also make absolutely terrific winter fundraisers. Put on the play, and then add on pie-related pieces like a pie contest or a pie auction. You’ll have a very exciting event on your hands, and your community will love it! See my Fundraiser Play Ideasfor all the advice and encouragement you’ll ever need to host your own version of a Pie Palooza.

So purchase a script from Fun Middle School Plays, and don’t delay! February is the month of love, and I want to send some your way with my Perfect Pear Pie recipe. ‘Cuz you’re my valentine.

Love, Alexi

P.S. Following your playscript purchase, be sure to check your e-mail for a copy of my Perfect Pear Pie recipe!

So, I’m back on the horse again. The scriptwriting horse, that is. Picture someone sitting in a saddle with a keyboard in front of them and a mug of coffee balanced on the horn. That’s me.

And speaking of coffee, the script I’ve been working on is an old-fashioned western melodrama that has a very fun setting: Lulu’s Coffee House. Because after all, when you think of comedy, mystery, and romance, don’t you think of a place where they’re brewin’ coffee and servin’ up cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting? I do.

It’s felt good to be looking for script ideas, too. Having spent time in both careers, I can say that writing and teaching are very similar in this regard. Writers are always on the search for their next funny line, interesting character, or intriguing plot. Teachers are always on the hunt for their next fun project, exciting theme, or effective teaching technique. And I don’t think it’s really conscious. It’s a sixth sense, really. Eavesdropping on a conversation in a restaurant becomes key dialogue in the story you’re writing. A magazine spread you perused at the grocery store inspires your next classroom project. This is perfectly natural behavior for writers and teachers. (And comedians, I imagine.) And aren’t we all unconsciously looking for our next cup of coffee?

And creative projects—playscripts, classroom projects, jokes—are always an interesting ride, aren’t they? It’s typically a push and pull between inspiration and perspiration. I believe my best writing happens when I’m working from an inspired, passionate, and energetic place. I also know that I can’t always wait to be in that perfectly inspired, passionate, energetic place to be writing. Sometimes, it’s just sitting down in the saddle and doing the work until the chafing truly becomes too much.

So as I finish things up in Lulu’s Coffee House, there is a nice soreness in my writing muscles. I’ve been up in the saddle, but it feels good. Now, can someone hand me a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll up here?

One year, I got a ham for Christmas. A kid, I mean. Not my kid, but a kid in my middle school class who was an absolute natural on stage. Picture a young Vince Vaughn. A sixth grade version of Robin Williams. A Jim Belushi hitting adolescence. Basically, I had the kid who was a ham in or out of costume. And for a drama teacher such as myself, he was the best gift Santa could have ever brought me.

I wrote our school’s holiday playscript Dear Mrs. Claus that yearin large part because of this ham of mine, and it is definitely a show that is near and dear to my heart. I had my young star in the largest role of Buddy the Elf, assistant to Mrs. Claus, and he had the audience in stitches, naturally. But more importantly, everyone else in the cast became better because of Buddy. His confidence, enthusiasm, and star energy were contagious and encouraged everyone else on stage to really go for it. The show was a hit because everyone, not just Buddy, turned into a bit of a ham!

When you’ve got a real star, it’s a gift. I would encourage any drama teacher to use their “sparklers” as a way to light up the rest of their cast. Or maybe you see the star potential in a particular kid. Then I say give them a meaty role! Remember, there’s nothing like a ham at Christmastime!

Dear Mrs. Claus is only one of my fun holiday shows. I have scripts for one and all in my Holiday Play Collection. May you find something that fits the ham, the side dishes, and the desserts in your cast!

In the hope you have a wonderful holiday season on stage, I’m offering a 20% discount on your first playscript purchase. Use the coupon code HAPPYHOLIDAYS20 at checkout. But act now! Coupon expires November 30, 2017.

I was reminded of an important truth the other day. You people are fun. And by “you people,” I mean middle school drama teachers.

I’m certain of this because the other day I found myself unexpectedly in a conversation with a middle school drama mentor…and we might have been perfect strangers, but we were cracking each other up like we’d been best friends since kindergarten. He confessed to me he’s always written dramatic plays…that he tried to write comedy, but the audience’s reaction was “ew.” I shared that all the scripts I’ve ever written have been comedy…I tried to write drama, but the audience’s reaction was inevitably “Ba-ha-ha!” Then we slipped into talking about our secret lives. I told him my time as a camp cook scrambling eggs and toasting toast was merely undercover work to gather material for my next play. He told me he was only spending time as a middle school drama teacher to prepare for his sparkling career as a singer on a cruise ship. I’m not sure anyone else listening in on our conversation was entertained, but I was having a grand ol’ time. Which brings me back to my point: you middle school drama teachers are brilliant and funny and fun. And I love knowing that I work for you.

And judging from my seat in the audience, it looked like the cast was primarily focused on cracking each other up, and I loved that.

My theory is this: to work with middle schoolers, you need to be a fun person. This is just a survival skill. And if my scripts can help middle school drama teachers exercise that skill, well, my time toasting toast has not gone to waste.

FUN MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAYS

Are you looking for a fun play, a funny play, a flexible play, an easy play for middle school? Then you’ve come to the right place! Do you need a sixth grade play, a seventh grade play, an eighth grade play that’s guaranteed to entertain? You won’t be disappointed here on the Fun Middle School Plays website. There’s a wide variety of scripts for middle school drama groups.

FREE SHORT COMEDY SKITS

Maybe you’re just looking for some short free plays for a middle school drama class. I offer you a whole set of free short comedy skits! They’re a great tool to build drama skills with adolescents and prepare them for the stage. Just download my collection of ten easy comedy skits for middle schoolers here on the website and enjoy.

FREE PLAY DIRECTOR'S TIPS

Are you new to drama with adolescents? Are you a director in need of some advice...some wisdom...some reassurance? Then dive into my free play Director’s Tips for new middle school play directors here on the website. You can read through them here on the site or simply print them off for later perusal...absolutely no charge!